Living in Spain

In the summer of 2007, while camping in the Colorado mountains, we decided to seize the day, make big life changes and move abroad. My husband was dreaming of warm, sandy beaches and learning to surf. I think he was really dreaming of a career break, a change to his daily life and the routines we had fallen into. I could hardly contain my smile in the dark starry night. I had been dreaming of moving abroad for years. Experiencing another culture, family travel to exotic destinations, writing, and spending lots of time with my daughters and husband. We went home energized and committed to making it happen.

About Life Changes & Family Travel

Almost a year later, after much research, discussion, planning, selling our house, packing or giving away our stuff, we moved to Spain. We wanted a Spanish speaking country, warm weather and the opportunity for great family travels. We had also traveled to Spain in the past so knew a little of what we were getting into! While the year was to be about journeys and finding new paths, they were not all to be of the traveling kind. It was also an opportunity for life changes, a career break, time… to step back and evaluate our careers and plot our next course. We were excited; our daughters, who were six and nine at the time, had their days of excitement, sadness, and a little fear of the unknown.

Living in Javea

The three weeks we spent in the idyllic Spanish village of Benimeli, about 352 people, took us into nearby Javea for the beach. We really enjoyed Javea, which had a bigger population of about 30,000 and was on the Mediterranean. It reminded me of southern California without the attitude and sprawl! The arenel felt like a beach town, the port more Spanish and lively. We heard a lot of Spanish being spoken, though German, French and English too. There were two international school options, great weather, close proximity to great beaches and mountains, and we eagerly committed to a rental house and schools. We also had Denia, Valencia and Barcelona near for family travels by car or train.

Camel Trek in Sahara Desert

Family Travel to the Mediterranean

Our adventures took us beyond Spain as well. Some of our most memorable experiences were from family travels to Italy, Morocco and Turkey. Our family travels in Morocco and Turkey were highlights for many reasons, but I think mostly because they were so foreign and new to us. Traveling beyond the USA and western Europe was an eye-opening experience and a wonderful way to learn about others.

Expectations

In many ways, living in Spain was nothing as I expected. Learning a second language was difficult and more so perhaps because we were not immersed as we thought we would be. Many English-speaking expats lived on the coasts of Spain, and English was a common language among many Europeans. We still learned a lot, but we didn’t come home fluent by any means. I also felt that to really immerse in a culture, make friends, experience the ways of life, we needed more than one year. We were just beginning to make friends and share experiences when it was time to return to the States. Our family vacations more than met my expectations and those were the weeks that I enjoyed the most. Living on the road, spending days and weeks with my family, relaxed, out of our routines and trying new things.

So excited to discover your blog, Dee! I’m a writer too, dreaming of a RTW with my fam, and have been focusing on Spain as a possible central landing zone. Thanks for all the info and lovely inspiration!

I can’t encourage you enough to make your RTW dreams a reality! It was so rewarding for my family to change daily routines, try new things and see how other cultures live.

Spain was a great jumping off point for Europe and the Mediterranean countries. My original blog, Sieze el Dia, is full of more specifics if you are interested or please email me directly at dee@travelandtravails.com

I love finding sites like yours! It’s so great to find families who love to ‘take the leap’ and do something they’ve dreamed of doing.

I really love your site, I’m going to explore it more.

Would you be interested in doing a guest post on my blog? (http://www.discovershareinspire.com )I’m doing a series of posts about families who have done what you’ve done and want to share why, how, and what they learned.

I just found your blog and have found that it has lots of great information! I had some questions to ask you and tried to send an email to the link dee@travelandtravails.com, but it wouldn’t accept my email. Is there any other way to get in touch other than on a public forum? Thanks! Erin

So much info you’ve provided here! Thanks! I’ve been trying to start planning our trip to Spain this past month and have been getting nowhere. I guess I’ll take some of your advice!Barbara´s last blog post ..Suede Sectional Slipcovers

US family coming from China, living now in Bangkok, wanting to move to Spain. I home school and was curious about schools near Javea. Where did your daughters attend? Did you get a student visa? Loved your blog and pictures.

@ Sherrie, Our daughters attended The Lady Elizabeth School. There is also Xabia International College. I recommend both. We applied for resident visas for our entire family, which are different than student visas. Glad you’ve enjoyed my blog and hope you’ve found it helpful. Please let me know if you have any further questions.

Thanks for sharing about your trip . even though it was a while back now, it is great for me to read as we are about to do the same thing and move to Granada city, Andalusia for 1 year with our 7 & 9 year old kids. We are excited and apprehensive all at once, particularly about the well being of the children going to a foreign school in a new language. Any advice would be most welcome. I’m a little nervous about the isolation but so excited to travel as a family – just us!! We are from Sydney, Australia and I’ve also started a blog about why we are going and the preparations etc…www.ouryearinspain.com

Hi There.
I was so happy to have a link come up when I googled about going abroad with our family in Spain!
My biggest issue are the children. We have 12 year old girls. So a little older then your children.
How did they find the school?? I expect it was English speaking?
Are there any websites you would recommend for expats to get information on?

@ Tanya, There are two British international schools in and near Javea, Xabia International and Lady Elizabeth. We considered the local schools, but discovered that they teach in the regional language, Valenciano, not Spanish, so opted for the international schools where are daughters had a Spanish class each day. We have friends whose children still attend both schools and are happy with their experiences. The Lady Elizabeth senior school is not in Javea and is a long drive to make daily. They do offer a bus service, but if you live in Javea, your daughters would spend a lot of time on a bus every day.

Many of my recommendations really depend upon what you’re looking for, how long you intend to stay, how much you want to speak Spanish, etc. Let me know if you have other questions, Dee

About

Travel and Travails is about life, change, and journeys around the world. It chronicles traveling with my family as well as a year living in Spain. Discover ideas, inspiration, and the humor and lessons of travel travails. Find new paths in your life.